


someone I can be silent with

by Orlaith



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Until the very end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:02:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21721915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orlaith/pseuds/Orlaith
Summary: “I can't think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can't talk to, or worse, someone I can't be silent with.” ― Mary Ann ShafferA story about CJ and Toby’s relationship throughout the years, that slightly diverges from canon after their meeting in “Institutional Memory”.
Relationships: C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	someone I can be silent with

**Author's Note:**

> I read somewhere Richard Schiff was talking about beats and pauses and silences, and as an actor, I really agreed with his point that those are moments too. What’s not being said is just as important as what is.
> 
> CJ and Toby are one of my favorite pairs and they have a lot of silent moments throughout the show, and I wanted to write some of my own moments where what they aren’t saying is just as important as what they are.

**_Election Night, 1994; Patrick Lewis’s senate campaign headquarters_ **

“Alright, you can all head out. We’ll have a debrief tomorrow morning at ten. For now,” Toby’s voice was weary as he sighed. “For now, just go get some sleep.”

CJ walked up to Toby as the campaign staffers filed out of the room and he ran his hand over his face. He turned to stack some folders, but gave up and just leaned on his forearms, his head hanging down. The room was nearly empty now, and CJ placed her hand on his shoulder.

“You did an impressive thing, Toby. This doesn’t change that. You’ll be back.” Toby chuckled wryly as he turned to her and leaned back against the table, his arms crossed over his chest.

“I’m oh for six. You gotta be impressed with my consistency.” CJ smiled at him.

“Olsson had money coming out of his ears. We could have run a spotless, top of the line campaign, and Lewis still would have lost. You knew that from the beginning.” Toby huffed and stared at the floor. “And yet you still asked me to join.”

“Yeah, and you did.” Toby gave her a soft smile. “Like you said, top of the line.” CJ crossed over to the small fridge in the corner of the bullpen. She pulled out two beers and used her keys to open them before passing one to Toby. She knocked her bottle against his, and the two drank in silence for a moment.

“What are you gonna do after this?” CJ asked.

“Well, sleep for a few hours, hopefully, and then-” CJ laughed and cut him off.

“No, jackass, I meant after the campaign closes down.”

“Ah,” Toby chuckled at his own joke. “I dunno. Probably bum around to some colleges, give a few lectures until I find my next hopeless campaign to run. What about you?”

CJ shrugged. “I’m not sure. I got an offer before this to go work at a marketing agency in California. That might be nice for awhile, get some sun, work normal hours.” The pair of them laughed at that. They both loved this, and they knew it. Neither of them could stay in a “normal” job for long.

“Well, wherever you go, make sure I get a forwarding address.” CJ grinned at Toby.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Tobus. You won’t be getting rid of me that easily.”

Toby smiled at her, slid his free arm around her waist and pulled her against him. CJ sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. She knew it sucked that their candidate had lost, and that Republicans had kept the White House and the Senate, but for now CJ was more than happy to lament their loss with her friend.

They would worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

**_Election Night, 1998; Bartlet for America campaign headquarters_ **

CJ and Josh’s heads were bent over exit polling, trying to decipher what the hell was happening. They glanced at the ticker on the screen. The governor still had almost 10,000 less votes than his opponent, but was leading in delegates. Josh ran off to talk to Sam about the speeches, but CJ continued to flip through the pages of numbers.

She smirked as she felt a presence over her shoulder, and didn’t even need to turn around to know who was lurking there.

“These numbers aren’t making sense, Toby.” He grumbled and stared at the paper with her. One side of his shirt had come untucked and his tie was askew. CJ handed the papers to Toby and moved to fix the tie.

“He could lose the popular. Helluva way to start a presidency.” CJ looped the tie in on itself and tightened it.

“No use worrying about it until we know there’s going to  _ be _ a presidency.” She straightened the tie and tucked his shirt in. CJ ran her hands down his chest in an effort to smooth out the wrinkles, but she was fighting a losing battle. “There. Much better.”

Toby opened his mouth for some smart retort, but Josh cut him off.

“Guys, they’re about to call California!” CJ and Toby rushed to stand beside Sam and Josh and Donna. Leo, the governor, and Abbey stood at the other set of screens next to them. CJ’s pulse sped up and her breath became short; they could be about to put a man in the highest office in the land. Toby silently laced their fingers together and squeezed her hand.

The newscaster on TV shuffled his papers. “And now, with 97% of precincts reporting, we are prepared to call California for-” but CJ never heard him say the name. The graphic of the governor’s face had already shown up on the screen. Anyone walking by would’ve thought a bomb had gone off in the room based on the deafening shouts of the campaign staff.

Champagne was flowing, confetti and streamers were flying through the air, though from where, CJ was not certain. Josh had picked Donna up and thrown her over his shoulder and was running around the room yelling something unintelligible. Sam clapped Toby on the shoulder, and CJ heard him shout, “Ready to write an inaugural address?” CJ watched Toby blanche a bit, so she squeezed his hand.

It was as though Toby had forgotten she was there. He turned to her, the biggest smile CJ had ever seen on his face, and threw his arms around her. CJ clung to him, so many different things going through her mind, but one stood out: this was the new marker of her life. Everything else would simply be in relation to this.

Knowing that no one was really paying attention and that even if they did, no one would care, CJ quickly pressed her lips to Toby’s. His hand came up to cup the back of her neck, and the kiss lasted much longer than a mere friendly and celebratory peck, but CJ blamed the adrenaline.

When they broke apart, Toby’s eyes were blazing, but neither of them could say anything else because suddenly Leo was there and telling Toby he needed to make a few changes to the speech before the governor ( _ No, the president-elect _ , CJ thought) headed down to the ballroom.

CJ didn’t even realize they were still holding hands until Toby squeezed her hand again before slipping away to go find Sam. CJ wrapped her arms around herself and grinned.

Things were going to be very different now, but that was more than okay.

**_May 20, 2000; Toby’s apartment_ **

CJ stood on the front stoop of Toby’s brownstone. She had spent hours tossing and turning in bed, trying her hardest to get some sleep after the long days that followed the shooting. But she hadn’t been able to. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the lights of the ambulance and heard the sirens and felt a shock go through her body as her shoulder hit the ground.

That was how she had ended up at Toby’s, hoping that a conversation with her friend would ease her mind. She pressed Toby’s buzzer for a second time, before his gruff voice came over the speaker.

“It… is one in the morning. Whoever is out there better get the hell away. I am tired, and this is the first full night of sleep I’ve gotten in days and-”

“Toby.” She was certain her friend heard the desperation in her voice, because barely a second went by before he was buzzing her in.

Moments later she was standing outside his door that he was already opening to let her in. Before she even said anything, Toby was holding his arms out and she was falling into them. He closed the door behind them and quietly stroked CJ’s hair as she cried on his shoulder.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she mumbled.

“Truthfully, I couldn’t either. I spent a lot of time laying in bed, but… I just couldn’t stop thinking.” CJ nodded as she rested her head in the crook of Toby’s neck.

“I was just… I was so scared, Toby, I couldn’t-” Toby shushed her and continued to stroke her hair.

“It’s okay, I know, I know.” CJ sobbed against him. “You don’t have to say anything.” The two of them stood like that for a long while, not saying anything before Toby moved them into the bedroom. He handed CJ a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that she changed into as Toby turned down the other side of the bed.

CJ crawled under the covers and settled against the pillows. Toby stood awkwardly next to the bed for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll just take my pillow and go out to the couch then and-”

“Shut up, Toby.” He stood staring at her, mouth open.

“CJ, I don’t want to make you feel like-”

“ _ Toby. _ ” CJ threw back the comforter and patted the bed next to her. “Come on.” Toby didn’t say anything, but sat down on the bed. “I don’t think either of us really wants to sleep alone tonight.”

Toby sighed deeply before nodding his head and getting under the covers with her. CJ turned off the lamp on her side, and Toby did the same. They laid there awkwardly for a moment before CJ slid across the bed, molding her body to Toby’s. He hesitantly slid an arm over her waist and pulled her against his chest.

The pair of them were so exhausted that they almost immediately fell into the most restful sleep either of them had had in months.

**_May 1, 2001; The West Wing_ **

CJ left Leo’s office stunned. She felt like she was seven years old again, and her brother had dared her to climb the tree in the backyard. She had made it higher than he had, and as she had looked down at him to gloat, her foot slipped off the branch. Though she hadn’t broken anything, CJ would never forget the feeling of all the air leaving her lungs. Her young self had panicked, thinking she wouldn’t be able to breathe right ever again.

That was what this felt like.

All CJ wanted to do right now was lock herself in her office and scream, but instead she felt her feet carrying her past her office and into the communications bullpen. She saw the light was still on in Toby’s office, and she didn’t even bother knocking, just swept into his office, slamming the door behind her.

Toby looked up at her over his laptop, quietly finishing his work before closing the screen. CJ was too amped up to sit down, so she paced in front of his desk instead, like some sort of caged animal.

“You knew,” CJ said, without preamble. Toby just nodded. “That’s what the leak situation was about. And just now, before Leo called me in, you…” He stared at her, not saying anything. “How long have you known?” She was breathing heavily now.

“A few weeks.”

“Why?”

“Because Hoynes-”

CJ finished his sentence as she caught up. “Because Hoynes berated the oil industry and put a poll in the field. Damn it.” She continued pacing. “I just- I don’t understand why he- he could’ve told us, we could have figured this all out during the campaign, had it been done with. But instead he…” CJ sucked in a deep breath and plopped on his couch, her eyes almost welling up with tears. “He  _ lied _ to us, Toby.”

Toby got up from his desk and crossed over to CJ, sitting next to her on his couch. “I know,” he said, “and I’m sorry.”

“ _ You’re _ sorry? Why are  _ you _ sorry?” Toby sighed and leaned back against the couch.

“Because I lied to you too. You know I don’t like doing that, but sometimes I have to.”

CJ looked at him for a long moment before nodding. “I know you do.” She leaned back with him. “What are we going to do?”

Toby shook his head. “I really don’t know.”

The pair sat there, thinking about their own jobs and the president’s, for a long while after that.

**_April 23, 2003; CJ’s apartment_ **

CJ sat on her couch, letting her head drop against the back. She lifted the glass of wine to her lips and sighed. Tonight was supposed to be a relaxing night off with her coworkers; play a little poker, take some of her friends’ money, but instead she had been shot at for the second time in the last few years. Her whole body tensed and her senses were flooded as she thought back on Rosslyn. Just because you don’t get shot doesn’t make you feel any safer.

A knock at her door jolted her out of her memories. CJ sat her glass down, rubbing the back of her neck as she made her way across the apartment. Peering out the peephole, CJ grinned to herself before sliding the deadbolt and opening the door.

“Toby,” CJ practically purred, “you will never guess what happened after you left the office tonight.” Toby returned her grin with a smirk of his own.

“Let me guess.” He strode past her and towards her liquor cabinet. He poured himself a glass of scotch and turned to her, his eyes full of the mirth and warmth that was saved for a scant few people in his life. “You made an egg stand on end.”

“See your tone makes it sound ridiculous, but yes, that is  _ exactly  _ what happened.” CJ plopped back onto the couch, and took a long drink. Toby shrugged off his coat, carefully resting it on the back of one of her chairs, before sitting down next to her. He silently clinked his glass against hers, and the two sat, Toby’s knee pressed against CJ’s, for a long time before either spoke. Car headlights reflected on the wall opposite the couch. The clock on the mantel ticked away the seconds. Sirens sounded in the distance.

Finally, Toby broke the silence.

“We got shot at again, CJ.”

“I know.”

“That doesn’t scare you.” CJ stared at Toby for a while, noticing that his eyes were almost the same color as his drink. She blamed the wine on making her thoughts fuzzy.

“It scares the hell out of me. But it doesn’t really do us any good to dwell.” She laughed bitterly. “At least we didn’t  _ get _ shot.” There was no humor in her voice, and Toby simply stared down at his drink. He spoke so quietly CJ couldn’t make out his words. “What?” He looked up at her, his whisky colored eyes boring into hers.

“You  _ could _ have, though. You almost did.” CJ held his gaze, keeping her voice as level as possible.

“But I didn’t. Because you pulled me down.” Toby scoffed. “I’m serious. You were quick, Tobus.” She bumped his shoulder with her own. “Who knows who would’ve gotten hurt if you hadn’t moved so quickly.” Toby simply shrugged his shoulders and took another drink.

After a moment, he said, so quietly CJ didn’t even know if he was aware he was speaking out loud, “You got shot at again.” CJ sat her glass down and turned her body towards Toby. She silently slid her hand into his and grabbed his chin with her other hand, turning his face to her.

“I’m right here, though. We’re both here. We’re both safe.” Toby nodded his head, but was suddenly avoiding her eyes. CJ tucked herself into him, resting her head on his shoulder. CJ felt her eyes getting heavier.

Suddenly, Toby’s arms were sliding under her knees and pulling her up off the couch. CJ’s eyes fluttered open as he stepped into her bedroom and sat her down on the bed. He glanced up at her. “You fell asleep. I let you sleep for a bit, but I need to go home.” He helped her get under the covers, but as he moved to leave, CJ grabbed his wrist.

“Toby.” He looked back at her, and there was a look in his eyes that CJ couldn’t put a name to, but she was almost scared by the intensity of it. She tugged on his wrist until he was on her level, and she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Claudia Jean. I’ll lock the door on my way out.” CJ mumbled her thanks, but she was already burrowing into the covers and drifting back to sleep.

**_April 21, 2004; The West Wing_ **

CJ watched Donna head toward her desk and sighed. She knew she’d been tougher on her than Donna really deserved, and she knew she was projecting onto her. After the crash, CJ probably could have made it to the Shenandoahs. She was looking for things to go wrong with Ben, and she knew it.

Grabbing her bags, CJ headed towards the lobby, but stopped when she saw Toby still in his office. The lights were off in the communications bullpen, and he didn’t notice her standing in his doorway right away. She knocked lightly on the door.

“Toby?” He looked up, brow furrowed and eyes trying to focus on her. He took a deep breath and rubbed at his beard.

“Yeah?”

“You good?”

“Yeah, fine.” CJ looked at him for a long moment before setting her stuff down and sitting on his couch.

“Get any work done while you were stuck in here?” Toby looked at her again, a confused look in his eyes, as if he wasn’t quite sure he knew who she was and was trying to place her.

“I wasn’t actually. In here, that is. Will and I were in his old office.” CJ’s eyebrows shot up.

“And how was that?”

“CJ, please.” Toby sighed. “I don’t…” CJ took over the conversation.

“Donna was in my office. We talked about Josh.” It was Toby’s turn to look surprised. “It went about as you’d expect. She’s upset with me now.” She watched Toby’s eyes dart to the bags next to her.

“Hey, weren’t you supposed to be roughing it with Ranger Ben this weekend?”

CJ said nothing, but stared down at her hands. “It’s too late. Wouldn’t make it in time.” When she looked up at him, Toby was still staring at her like he was trying to figure her out. CJ was used to silence with Toby, whether he was writing or thinking something through, but it was always a comfortable silence, a silence they both understood. This wasn’t like that.

Toby finally broke the silence. “I’m getting tired of these crashes.” CJ nodded and sighed.

“Me too. They’re like something by Sartre.” Toby smiled at her for the first time that night, but they quickly slipped back into their awkward silence. CJ was almost startled when Toby spoke again.

“What are we doing here, CJ?”

CJ laughed nervously. “Is this an existential question, because I was only kidding about Sartre-”

“I’m serious. Why are you here?” A lot of answers flitted through CJ’s mind, and she thought about what a hypocrite she was for getting on Donna’s case. Toby’s eyes burned into CJ’s and she knew the answer he was looking for, but she just couldn’t give it to him. CJ stood up, brushing off her pants, though nothing had gotten on them.

“To serve the president.” She grabbed her bags and moved to the door. “Goodnight, Toby. Don’t stay here too late, yeah?”

Toby stared at her for a long moment, before he said, “Yeah,” and then quickly busied himself with pulling out papers and shuffling things around, and CJ knew he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. She turned to leave, and as she left the office, she heard a quiet, “Goodnight, Claudia Jean,” over her shoulder.

**_February 23, 2004; The West Wing_ **

CJ slipped away from the DNC gala and went down to the bar to find Toby sitting at a table in the corner, nursing a glass of whiskey. He looked up at her over a pair of glasses she’d never seen before. 

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey, yourself.” He kept staring down at his drink, so CJ slid into the seat next to him. CJ waited for Toby to say something, calmly counting the ceiling tiles.

She got up to 72 when he said, “Didn’t see Josh.”

“Probably for the best.” CJ grabbed his hand where it was resting on the table. Toby grunted his agreement. They sat in silence for a moment before CJ stood and patted his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go.”

Toby gave her a confused glance. “Go where?”

“Home,” she said simply. Toby raised an eyebrow. “My detail isn’t wild about me going to your place, but they have no problem with you coming to mine. So let’s go. You still have that change of clothes you left at my house last Thanksgiving.”

“Still hoping to take advantage of me in my inebriated state, Claudia Jean?”

CJ’s eyes blazed for a moment, but she suspected he was trying to bait her.

“Of course not, Toby.” Her voice got softer as she grabbed his hand and helped him stand. “I just don’t think you should be alone tonight.” Toby looked at her for a while and it reminded her of the look he gave her after the lockdown the night of the correspondent's dinner. It was a look that made her feel like he could see under her skin, and it made her uncomfortable.

“Okay,” he said quietly. “Let’s go.” They went back to their offices and grabbed their bags before CJ’s detail drove them to her apartment. CJ pulled out her keys and let them in, and Toby made a beeline for her couch. He laid out, propping his feet up as he began waxing poetic about the gala and the lights they’d hung up in the west wing. CJ sat her things down in her room and poured Toby a glass of water before making her way back to the living room.

Sitting down next to him, CJ handed Toby the water, and he sat up so he wouldn’t spill. He took a long drink, finishing almost half the glass. All the lights were off except the one above the stove which cast a yellow glow into the living room. Toby’s face was cast in shadows as he stared down at his sock-clad feet.

“He left. He just-” Toby breathed deeply, trying to hold in the tears. “You don’t just drop everything and walk away. You can’t just- We still have governing to do. The White House doesn’t shut down once the next election starts, but he just…” CJ felt her heart clench as she realized Toby wasn’t talking about David anymore. She reached out and cupped his cheek in her hand, running her thumb lightly over his cut.

“Maybe you don’t take a week off, but don’t go into work tomorrow okay.” Toby looked up at her at that.

“Is this coming from my boss or from my-”

“It’s coming from me, Toby, from CJ.” She continued to stroke his cheek. “You need to sleep, eat three full meals, and watch something mindless on television.” Toby just nodded his head. CJ stood up then. “Come on, let’s get you in bed.”

She pulled him off the couch and into her bedroom. They both changed into comfortable clothes before sliding under the covers, and for a moment, the quiet and seemingly natural ritual of getting ready for bed together let CJ imagine a time in which this  _ was _ natural for them because they’d done it for years. They turned off the lights, and CJ stayed on her side of the bed, trying to give Toby his space, but it wasn’t long before he slid his arm over her waist.

CJ rolled onto her side to face him, and she could still smell the scotch on his breath. He could barely keep his eyes open when he spoke, and CJ knew he was almost out.

“I love you, do you know that?” CJ sucked in a breath, but told her heart to calm itself. She simply smiled and ran her knuckles over his cheekbone.

“Yes. Yes, I do.” She watched his eyes drift shut. “And I love you,” she whispered into the still bedroom.

**_January 13, 2006; Toby’s apartment_ **

CJ walked up the stairs of Toby’s brownstone, hugging her coat to her. She had walked all the way here from her apartment, because even with the bone-chilling wind of January, it was incredible to be able to just walk around wherever she wanted without a Secret Service detail telling her it wasn’t safe. Looking at the buzzer with Toby’s name next to it, CJ almost chickened out.

_ You didn’t pick Danny up at a bar last Thursday. You’ve been close for eight years. _

_ Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it magically falls into place when we take the leap. _

And it hadn’t really. She’d tried, she really truly tried to let things work with Danny, but she hadn’t been able to get Toby’s voice out of her head. She thought Danny knew that too, because he had pressed her hand after the inauguration and said, “Go talk to him. See if he feels the same.”

She and Toby had been close for a lot longer than eight years. Maybe this would be different. CJ sighed heavily and pressed the buzzer. She counted her breaths as she waited to hear Toby’s voice.

“What?” She smiled at the gruffness he spoke with.

“Can you let me up, Tobus?” There was a pause, a pause that felt like it lasted years, before he buzzed her in. As she climbed the stairs to his floor, she thought back to their last conversation.

_ You’re a woman with a lot of options. You’re bouncing. From Bartlet to Santos to Danny to me. Maybe you should stop bouncing and pick something. What do you want? _

She knew what she wanted now. But now she had to find out if he wanted it too. She hesitated outside the door, but the door swung open as she finally raised her hand to knock. Toby stood in front of her in a sweater and jeans, and she thought that he had never looked more handsome. It felt weird to let herself think that after so long.

“It’s quite late, Claudia Jean.” He smiled softly even as he reprimanded her.

“I know.” She shifted nervously on her feet. “Can I come in?”

Toby stepped aside to let her walk inside. CJ stood in front of him, and suddenly all of the things she’d wanted to say for so long were gone.

“Did the White House counsel call you?” Toby smiled the first real smile she had seen ever since Greg Brock published his story.

“No, but the pardon attorney did. Was that your doing?”

CJ smiled back. “No. That was all him.” Toby nodded and sighed.

“We worked for a good man.” He watched her for a moment, clearly waiting for her to say something, but when she didn’t say anything else, he asked, “How’s Danny?”

“Danny’s good,” she said. CJ watched a look cross Toby’s face, but he quickly hid it. “He’s currently on his way to California for a new job he got out there.”

Toby’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Are you planning on heading out there soon?” CJ pulled her coat tighter around her, and then slowly shook her head. Toby’s face softened, but looked no less shocked. “You’re not?”

“No,” CJ all but whispered. She spread her arms out and then dropped them back to her sides in a move of confusion. “I just… I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said last time.” Toby slowly crossed to her and pushed her coat off her shoulders, carefully draping it over the back of the chair next to him. CJ had started talking and now she couldn’t stop herself. She began pacing around his living room now, all her energy making its appearance finally.

“You said I needed to pick something, and you asked me what I wanted, and I thought that was Danny. I  _ wanted _ it to be Danny. But I just- Your voice was always there, and I did miss you so much, because we  _ did _ . We had it  _ so good _ , Toby. Our whole relationship was built on us being intrinsically linked to each other, but never acknowledging or talking about anything more, besides the occasional sarcastic joke, because anything else would have ruined what we had. But after our talk, I just couldn’t ignore it anymore.”

She stopped in front of Toby, suddenly unable to move. He was looking at her like a man who had just spent months crawling through the desert only to come upon a gorgeous spring. His voice was raw when he spoke.

“What are you saying, CJ?” She took a deep breath in. This was it. No going back from this.

“I’m saying it’s you. You asked me what I wanted? I want you.” Toby stared at her, and she watched him, she saw his eyes gleam and gain back some of the warmth she felt responsible for him having lost over the years.

“What,” he cleared his throat and his tongue darted out to wet his lips, “ _ exactly _ do you want from me?” CJ took another step towards Toby, grabbing his hands in hers.

“I’m not quite sure yet. But that’s something I’d like to figure out together.”

Toby grinned at her now, an uncharacteristically joyful and unbridled smile.

“I’d like that too.” Toby closed the distance between them then, threading his fingers through her hair and steadying her with a hand on the small of her back as he pressed his lips to hers. The pair of them had shared many a platonic peck, and there was that one kiss after the first election, but CJ didn’t think she had ever been kissed like this by anyone.

Electricity was coursing through her as Toby parted her lips and ran his tongue along her bottom lip, nipping at it slightly. CJ sighed against his mouth, and they stayed like that, only finally breaking apart because the two of them were smiling too big.

Toby pulled her into his bedroom after that, and they spent the next few hours learning every part of each other that had been hidden to them until this moment. They said little, speaking instead with their hands and lips and other body parts, letting the other know exactly how loved they were.

Afterwards they lay naked in Toby’s bed, CJ’s head on his chest, and CJ thought to herself, as Toby ran his knuckles up and down her bare side and his lips pressed against her hair, that this wouldn’t be a bad way to spend the rest of her life.


End file.
